BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in northern Negros Occidental held a search and rescue and oil spill simulation exercise yesterday morning at the Banago Port here.
Members of the Philippine Red Cross, the Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), and the Philippine National Police’s Maritime Group also participated.
The exercise began at around 10 a.m. A collision at sea was simulated.
The participating vessel, tugboat Arcturus, declared a “mayday” and the vessel’s captain ordered “abandon ship.”
Moments after receiving the “mayday” call, two of the PCG’’s Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) immediately sprang into action and raced towards Arcturus’ location to rescue survivors, all of whom were PCG personnel posing either as the vessel’s passengers or crew.
Another tugboat, Sadr, also raced to the scene to provide assistance.
The survivors were brought to the Banago Port where ambulances from the Philippine Red Cross and the Bacolod CDRRMO treated the survivors’ injuries.
Meanwhile, a boat deployed oil spill booms to contain the supposed oil spill.
Coast Guard District Western Visayas (CGDWV) commander Commodore Edgar Ybañez said he was satisfied with the local PCG’s response.
Ybañez stressed the importance of proper coordination, explaining that the PCG would need the assistance of other agencies and even stakeholders in order to save lives during an incident at sea.
“Kinonduct namin ito to prepare ourselves for any eventualities, but we hope na ‘wag sana mangyari ang ganitong sakuna sa atin,” Ybañez said.
When it comes to equipment, he admitted that Negros Occidental does not have enough floating assets.
Currently, the PCG in northern Negros Occidental only has one 24-meter long vessel currently in Sipalay City and participating in another exercise in the southern part of the province./PN